The Road Through France
by Sergeant Major
Summary: Saving Private Ryan ended in Ramelle so I've picked it up from there. *CHAPTER 5 IS HERE*. Read and Review.
1. Ramelle

The Road Through France

The Road Through France

** **

I sought cover behind a broken down, badly beaten American infantry motorcycle as a volley of lethal 9mm the ground gagging parabellum rounds raced over my head and pierced the soft flesh of the man behind me. He let out a sickly cough and fell to the ground choking up blood. I reached out a hand to pull the soldier to safety behind the motorcycle with me. I looked down at the wounded soldier to see how severe the wound actually was. The young corporal was holding his neck and gasping for air. I removed his hands from his neck trying to apply a dressing I hade acquired from a pouch on my pistol belt. As I removed his tensed hand from his neck, a spray of blood from the man's pierced jugular vein shot up the side my face and helmet. "MEDIC!" I shouted "MEDIC!" A short slightly unconditioned man crawled, avoiding fire, to our position behind the motorcycle. He immediately removed the field dressing I had hastily applied to the boy's bleeding artery. Another shot of the red fluid left the soldier's neck, this time I ducked it. 

"This one's gone Sir, He hasn't got a chance." The Medic stated. He took out a small syringe of morphine and pierced the young corporal's leg with it. "He'll still die but he wont feel it this way." I watched the medic make haste to respond to another call for his aid, as the boy beside me drew in his last breath of air and became another casualty of war. I closed his eyelids with my fingers.

I turned to the officer taking over to my right. "I THOUGHT THE DAMN SS WAS HIGH-TALIN' IT OUTTA HERE SIR!"… "Sir?"I took another glance at the officer beside me. "Sir?" I grabbed his shoulder. The man fell onto my lap. I looked at his face and realized that I knew this corpse. "I never thought they'd get Captain Miller." I thought to myself. I remembered the Captain teaching me everything I knew about being an officer and a ranger. As I scanned the area, amongst the bullets grazing the pavement and brick, I also noticed that Sergeant First Class Mike Horvath was lying lifeless beside the bridge crossing the river. I made a beeline for the bridge, evading rifle and submachine gun fire from the retreating German forces. I slid in behind the bridge wall beside a man I recognized as Private First Class Reiben, Laying down fire on the krauts across the bridge. He glanced over at me "LIEUTENANT MORGAN SIR, IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU GUYS SHOWED UP!" "WE JUST GOT OVER THAT DAMN RIDGE, WE TOOK SOME PRETTY HEAVY FIRE FROM THE KAIZERS" I replied. 

I opened up with my Thompson and let loose a volley of lethal 45 ACP ammunition on some German soldiers making a run for some cover behind a blown out Panzer. The flying lead ripped through the kraut Feld Webel leading the small squad. Reibens Browning Automatic Rifle cut down two more of the bastards. The remaining two set up an MG42 between the tread of the tank and a stairway to a café. "NOW WE'VE GOT A MACHINE GUN NEST TO WORRY ABOUT!" I pointed out to reiben and the other three soldiers that had collected behind us. The machine gun nest was an obvious attempt to keep the American GI's from crossing the bridge, therefore allowing the rest of the SS to escape, or at least giving them cover. This was an obvious suicide mission.

"ALRIGHT" I yelled "YOU FIVE MEN COME WITH ME. REIBEN YOU GO LEFT AND COVER THE ATTACK!" "YES SIR!" We made our way across the bridge, being missed, narrowly by the deadly 7.92 mm machine gun fire. I dove for cover behind a pile of rubble and the rest followed. Reiben's BAR made a loud statement towards the bunker causing the Krauts to duck and cover. This allowed myself and another soldier who had previously introduced himself as Corporal Timothy Upham, to make a run for the wall of the café. I handed a grenade to Upham "Do it." I whispered. He hesitated. "Do it now." I repeated. He removed the pin and dropped it to the ground. He lobbed the grenade into the nest, not three feet away from our position. The grenade went off with loud percussion. The nest became silent except for the sound of a man screaming in pain. I cautiously maneuvered around the corner, Thompson ready, to inspect the remnants of the machine gun and its crew. I saw a German soldier lying in the battered nest. He had his hands placed on his stomach, trying to keep his digestive system from spilling out onto the pavement. "MEDIC" Upham yelled "MEDIC". A Medic came from around the bridge and looked at the German soldier laying in agony and replied, "He's not worth the morphine" and ran off to help other fallen GI's. I took out my M1911, pulled back the hammer and let loose a round into the bleeding man's head. "It had to be done" One of the soldiers noted.

I holstered my sidearm and cautiously made my way around the blown out Panzer. After a glance down the road I had noted that it was relatively clear. Except for a few German soldiers exiting the Ville, Sporadically firing in the general direction of the American GI's. I let loose another volley from my Thompson, Not hitting anyone, but causing the retreating Germans to move faster. 

We moved back across the bridge, to our own side. "That looks like almost all of them." Major Greene, our company commander pointed out. "You did a hell of a job Morgan" he commended. "Who are these men Lieutenant?" The Major inquired. "Uh, This is Private Reiben and this is Corporal Upham, Sir." "Oh" he replied "Well they're in your platoon now Morgan" "Yes Sir". "Bravo Company will clear the rest of the town, Meet the new Charlie Company Commander in the forest on the outskirts of town. His name is Robert Beckett, He's a Captain. He'll be expecting you. "Yes Sir" I replied obediently. 

"Alright guys, Lets saddle up" I commanded. On the way out of town Reiben and Upham filled me in on the events proceeding my arrival. They told me of Captain Miller's death, Private James Ryan and taking on the 2nd SS with only 20 people at their disposal. I was obviously impressed. I was also happy to get the new support that came with Reiben and Upham. 

When we got to the edge of town we saw my platoon Sergeant in a jeep. "Hello Sir, I've been ordered to pick you up by the new Captain. I slung my Thompson over my right shoulder and climbed into the small green vehicle. "Lets go Sergeant" I said "We got a war to fight"


	2. Captain Beckett

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

** **

My squad and I made our way over the small country road, on the outskirts of Ramelle. We sped by abandoned farmland surrounded by barbed wire fences and filled with some sort of yellow flowered crop that I couldn't make out due to the speed at which we were traveling. 

"Hold on to your skivvies" Sergeant Claymore advised 

"Captain Beckett wants to see you guys right quick." 

"Well maybe you should go faster then Sergeant, Maybe you'll finally get airborne." The young Sergeant looked at me and smiled. 

"Well" he said, "I always wanted to be a pilot."

"Well your running out of time, you wont be alive much longer with the way you drive." I replied. 

"I have to warn you Sir, Captain Beckett just came from a desk in England. He knows everything about war, by the book, but he's never actually been in combat." 

"Great" I sarcastically replied. 

We rolled into a small outpost containing an aid station and a communications tent, at about 3:30 pm. There were wounded and exhausted men moping around, blood staining their uniforms. Their Platoon commanders, or Squad leaders were forming up the Men who had enough energy to continue the war. They would take what could be their last look at their friends and proceed on to an unknown future.

"You Lieutenant Morgan sir?" A young Second Lieutenant asked. 

"That's the name." 

"Captain Beckett will be out in a couple of minutes, He said you can go get some coffee and a carton of cigarettes, they're giving them out in the communications tent for some damn reason. Sir." 

"Okay thank you Lieutenant." I said. 

"Alright men, Get out of the jeep and go get some coffee and cigarettes, in the communications tent." I commanded. 

I was tired and needed coffee bad, but I thought it was important for the men to get the coffee first. Reiben and Upham looked especially exhausted, I saw the need for them to be first in line. 

"Alright men, you guys go get it first." 

"Yes Sir" I'd never seen Reiben so willing to follow an order

I was happy to get some real coffee. I hadn't had a good hot cup of coffee since the day after the invasion. I barely got a break after the gunfire stopped on Omaha Beach. I was Given Lieutenant Briggs's platoon after the young officer's untimely death on the blood-stained beach. Immediately afterwards my new platoon and I set out to take out a Wehrmacht company causing trouble on the right flank of the 29th Infantry division. Almost half of the platoon was lost between the beach and Ramelle. 

I was next in line when I heard a deep booming voice."Lieutenant Morgan, Is there a Lieutenant Morgan here?" 

"Yes Sir" I replied "I'm Lieutenant Morgan" 

"I'm Captain Beckett, The new Charlie company commander." He explained, "I was sorry to hear about Captain Miller." 

"He was a hell of an officer, and a good man, Sir."

"I know," He said "Miller was up for a promotion to Major before he got it." 

I couldn't believe the irony "Damn" I muttered

"Sorry for taking you out of line Morgan, But I got some coffee and a box of cigars in my jeep for my senior platoon leader." He stated

"Oh, would you like me to go get Lieutenant Hardy, Sir?" I asked.

"Lieutenant Hardy was killed this morning, A Kraut sniper shot him in the spine while he was in his jeep. His medic tried to stop the bleeding but Hardy was dead before he got here."He stated " That makes you the senior platoon leader in the company."

"Yes Sir" I reluctantly accepted the position.

The tall middle aged Captain handed me a cup filled with coffee strong enough dissolve a military issue bayonet, and a box of Havana cigars that he said he acquired from his nephew who was a business man in Cuba. 

"There's some ammo out by the communications tent for you and your men." The Captain explained. "Your mission is to take your under-strength platoon to a little town called Leduc and set up an artillery observation point in the best place you can find one. There's a church with a tall roof, Get into the attic, it might be the perfect place to set up.

"Has the town been cleared yet sir?" I asked, Full well knowing the answer to my stupid question.

"No, You and your platoon will have to do the job, we sent in a probe earlier, looks like you're up against elements of the 16th Wundulkaumph group. They have no armor and no artillery backing them. The krauts have concentrated their big guns on the Limies and the Canucks coming out of Sword, Gold and Juno." 

"Yes Sir, I'll take my platoon in the back door here." I said pointing a spot on the beaten up map the Captain was holding.

I started back towards my platoon when the Captain interrupted my concentration. 

"OH Lieutenant, There's one more thing" he said in a somewhat disoriented tone "You have to hold that town, At all costs." 

"Yes Sir" I replied as I swallowed my heart

"How old are you Lieutenant?" Captain Beckett asked.

"I'm 23 Sir" I replied 

"My god" He said in Disbelief "I would've taken you for 40."

"That's what war will do to you sir, it makes Men out of Boys. When I get home my girlfriend isn't even gonna know who I am when I step off that boat."

"Here's hoping she does Morgan. Good Luck."

"Thank you sir"

I walked back to my exhausted platoon finishing my cup of coffee. I lit up a Cigar and sat down beside Sergeant Claymore. I looked my platoon over. Their faces were darkened with the grime received on the battle field. A soldier didn't have a lot of time to clean up after a battle, this coffee was a blessing, courteousy of our brand new company commander, with a heart of god, who had just sent me and my men to what could be our final stand. When I began to speak, their eyes seemed to peer right through me. I took out my map and began pointing out and explaining various points on the map.

"Alright" I began "This is Leduc, now the Brass thinks that this little stink hole of a town would be the perfect place to set up a forward observation post."

"That's where we come in right sir?" a Private named Mike Everett asked

"That's right Everett, we're the forward observers. I know the job sucks but someone has to do it." I explained, "We also have to hold the town against any kind of counter attack. We'll be reinforced after we take the town."

"wait a minute," Reiben demanded "You mean we gotta take a town, Guarded by Krauts, With an under strength platoon, and hold until the Brass is ready to reinforce us?" 

"That's pretty much the jist of it Reiben, Complaining wont solve anything." I replied

"FUBAR" 


	3. Sergeant Flarhety

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

** **

I escorted my platoon over to the makeshift ammunition depot behind the communications tent. The depot itself consisted of a stack of ammunition cans in a semi circle, with two guards carrying M1 Garand rifles. I walked to the young Corporal in charge of the detail and said, "My men need ammunition and grenades Corporal, Can you help us?"

"Yes Sir, I'll just need to know how much of each caliber you'll want Sir."

"Right," I replied "We'll need 12 magazines for the BAR, 4 magazines for an M1 Carbine, We'll need about 5 clips for each Garand and I'll need 6, 30 rounders for my Thompson and 2 clips for my pistol. Oh and throw in about 2 pineapples for each man."

"Yes Sir, Private see to the Lieutenant's order."

"Yes Corporal" The young private replied.

"Corporal, I'm also gonna need that deuce and a half." I ordered pointing to the green painted truck sitting about 10 feet to the left of the depot.

"Uh, Yes Sir. I'll clear it with my Sergeant." 

"Good, When you do, bring it to me over by that clump of trees" I said pointing towards the outskirts of the forest.

"Right Sir" He obediently replied.

My now re-stored platoon and I made way for the clump or trees I had pointed out to the Corporal. I slung my Thompson over my shoulder and removed my ratty old map from the inside pocket of my M41 field jacket. I looked over the plan again, just to find any flaws. I wasn't sure how this mission was going to work out, but I did know that I wasn't big on dying before I saw age 24. I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. I prepared myself however, for a great number of losses.

We weren't sitting by the trees for long before the Corporal I had spoke to earlier came riding up on the deuce and a half I had ordered. I stood up and ordered my platoon to get on the truck while Sergeant Claymore and I made our way to the jeep we had arrived in. I heard a voice call to me as I stepped into the jeep. "Sir, Captain Beckett wants you to have these short wave radios, he says you'll know what to do with them." A young Private explained while handing me 3 of the hand-held radios.

"Alright Will, Make sure the other 2 squad Sergeants get one of these radios." I said to sergeant Claymore.

"Yes Sir" He got out of the jeep and ran over to the truck, Sergeant McGill and Sergeant Flarhety both need one." He said handing 2 of the radios to a soldier sitting in the truck.

"ALRIGHT, LETS MOVE OUT!" I commanded to the small convoy of 2 vehicles.

The vehicle's engines roared as we accelerated down the road towards the heavily defended town of Leduc. Sergeant Claymore and Myself led the way in the jeep, the truck followed closely behind. As we traveled along the road we passed other American Infantry columns either advancing or pulling back to rest. The confusion among the ranks seemed to be dissipating as dead officers were replaced with new ones, and soldiers became hardened veterans resulting from battles fought on the days following June 6 1944. We passed soldiers taking orders from Sergeants and Officers alike. We passed the bleeding and dead soldiers from both sides of the war, either being evacuated as wounded, prisoners or dead. 

I took out a Cigar and placed it in my teeth, while I looked for my lighter. I searched through all the pockets in my field jacket and all the pouches on my webbing. Unsuccessful in my search, I turned to the sergeant sitting beside me and asked, "Gotta light?" 

"How many of those things do you go through a day?" He questioned, while reaching for his lighter.

"I lost track after 6 a day." I replied while lighting up my cigar.

"I remember when you first got into the war, back at Anzio. You never smoked or drank at all. Now I can roughly compare you to my grandfather, God rest his soul. You must pay the Marlboro peoples checks."

"I'm not too worried about it Will, Chances are the krauts will get me before these damn things ever do." 

We came towards a town with about 15 to 20 soldiers taking cover on either side of the road, which ran right through the middle of town. I found this to be rather unusual since the town itself was quiet. As we reached the town a Military Police "Buck" Sergeant stopped our jeep. He couldn't have been much older than 20, which meant that the brass must've really been reaching for 3 stripers. The Sergeant brought his hand up into a snappy military academy type salute. I did what came naturally and saluted back.

"What's up Sergeant?" I asked

"Oh," he replied, as if astounded by the fact that anyone would address him as Sergeant. "There's about 3 snipers that need to be cleared out of this town before we can let anyone through."

"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING SALUTING ME, YOU WANNA GET MY DAMN HEAD BLOWN OFF?" I yelled angrily 

"Sorry Sir" he said in a nervous tone

"Is there anything we can do?" I asked as my anger subsided.

"Uh, if you want to, you can help out the rest of the MP's clear out the buildings Sir."

"Alright Sergeant, We'll do that" 

I stepped out of the jeep, Sergeant Claymore followed. I walked towards the truck. The 2 other squad Sergeants, McGill and Flarhety stood up, knowing that I was about to call on them.

"McGill, Flarhety, form up on me" I commanded

"Yes Sir!" McGill responded on both their behalfs

"We're gonna find these damn snipers, so lets get the squads together and show these MPs how to fight a war. McGill you take the right flank, Flarhety, take the left. I'll go with you. Claymore, stay here with your squad and watch for snipers up the center of the road." "Lets Go!"

I led the way for Flarhety's squad. Flarhety himself was new to the war and was learning the ropes. We ran towards the corner of a nearby building and took cover behind it. I peeked around the corner to see what awaited us. The road came to a dead end where the side of a building had literally fallen off onto the road. I scanned the upper floors of some houses and shops to find what could possibly be a good sniping position. 

"See anything Sir?" Flarhety asked. 

"No, but there could be a Kraut sharpshooter in the third shop down the road."

Flarhety was just about to poke his head around the corner when I grabbed him and threw him back to the ground. "Don't poke your head out, your just gonna give the bastard a target!"

I reached over to a dead GI lying on the ground about 3 feet away.His body was still warm indicating that he had been shot recently. I rolled the soldier over and removed his helmet. 

"Flarhety, Get me that stick." I said pointing to a long piece of rubble. Flarhety did as he was told. 

I placed the cold steel standard issue GI helmet on the stick. 

"Ok," I said, "When I stick the helmet out, the sniper will shoot it. When he works the bolt on his rifle it'll take about 3 seconds. That'll give us 3 seconds to take cover behind that stair case." "Get Ready."

I stuck the helmet out slowly. Suddenly a round ripped right through the thin steel.

"GO, GO!" I yelled.

The 6-man squad made a beeline for the staircase. I slid into the stone structure as if I were in a baseball game. The remaining 5 men stumbled in behind me.I scanned the area for a way to get into the building that I had seen the sharpshooter in earlier. I saw cellar entrance that was covered by what looked like a broken park bench. I figured it would lead to the basement of the shop that the sniper was in hiding. 

"Alright Sergeant," I said to Flarhety "Lets get into that cellar."

"Right." He replied.

"Lets see how cocky this guy is with 20 pounds of lead in his ass!" 

"Alright lets move!" Flarhety commanded to his men.

We moved down the stairs, weapons ready, and made way up a small staircase leading to a door. As I eased the door open, it fell clean off its hinges. We climbed a second set of stairs directly to the right of the doorway we had just come through. Our footsteps fell loudly upon the old wooden structure. I was sure our presence in the building was no longer a secret. We saw a closed door on the right side of the hallway. Suddenly I heard a loud gunshot come from within the room.

"He's in there" He's in there." I whispered.

The young Sergeant Kicked the old door square in the center, it broke right in half and fell off the rusted hinges that grasped it so poorly. The whole squad burst into the room, aiming their rifles at the small man by the window.

"GET DOWN" I yelled to the sniper.

The sniper threw his KAR 98 to the floor and raised his hands in the air. This sniper would have to sit out the war in a POW camp.

"Good job Flarhety. You got a lot to learn, but you'll make a damn good squad Sergeant." I commended, not taking my sights off the kraut.

"Thank you Sir, now maybe my father will be proud of me. I can't wait to write to him about this." He replied excitedly.

"Well, go tag him Flarhety. He's your prisoner."

The young Sergeant walked over to the sniper with an exited look in his eye. Every soldier is exited when they take their first prisoner. To kill someone is easy. All you do is pull the trigger. But to have someone surrender to you, that's power. Flarhety kicked the Kraut's rifle away and pushed him down to the floor with a heavy boot. Flarhety turned towards me and smiled. I smiled back, but my smile soon turned to a look of utter dismay as I saw the sniper draw his P38 pistol and let loose two rounds interrupting Flarhety's smile into his back. Blood came spewing fourth from the two nickel sized exit wounds on his chest. Flarhety stumbled forward and fell into me. I held him up by his arms as the rest of the squad let loose with a volley of 30.06 ammunition into the kraut sniper. The rounds punctured the soft flesh of the sniper with ease. He fell bleeding to the ground. 

"I DIDN'T KNOW THE COULD BLEED RED!" One of the soldiers said putting three more rounds into the dead German.

"Hold it down Taber, He's not worth the ammo" I ordered.

"You okay Flarhety?" I asked the bleeding Sergeant. I knew he was gonna die

"H-He shot me in the b-back Sir!" He replied coughing warm blood up onto my hands. 

"Use this Sir" Private Howland said handing me his field jacket. 

I knelt down, removed Flarhety's Helmet and slid the field jacket underneath his head. He was tense and was sweating profusely 

"Am I g-gonna die Sir?" he asked nervously.

"You did a good job Flarhety." I said ignoring the question. Still being bled upon by the dying man

"Sir t-tell my d-dad that I d-dint cry wh-when I d-died." He asked.

"Okay."

I looked down at the dying Sergeant expecting him to say something gallant before he died, but all he could come up with was an un-easy sigh and some sickly coughing. He didn't go quietly, His coughing got louder and his hands and feet started to twitch frantically. He bled out more and more blood until he was completely drained of the red liquid, and he slipped into darkness. His eyes remained open after he died. I wasn't at all an honorable sight. Not like in the John Wayne movies that we were all so fond of. It was another pathetic tribute to the behavior of the human race. I moved my blood soaked hand to his eyelids and forced them shut.

I grabbed Flarhety's dog tags and ripped off one of the small metal tags. I stood up and headed towards the doorway. As I lead the squad back to the rest of the platoon I briefly looked back trying to remember Flarhety in a good way. He always talked about his father. He really looked up to him. I always overheard him talking to his friends about how his father was the one who forced him into the army, and his father who was so proud when Flarhety rose to the rank of Sergeant so quickly. I wondered how proud his father would be of his son, who died in the Second World War. His son's gallant fall from life, out in a blaze of the so-called glorious fire that was expected from a soldier in war. To me it was just another kid that I had sent to his death.

"What was his first name?" I asked in shame, "I didn't even know his first name."

"It was Dale, Sir" Taber replied.

"Dale?" I repeated

"Yes Sir." He confirmed

We arrived back at the gate. The platoon Medic, Tom McAllen and Sergeant Claymore ran up to greet us. 

"You okay Sir?" McAllen asked

"I'm fine, but Flarhety's dead." I replied

I walked over to the MP Sergeant that I had the pleasure of encountering earlier.

"There's a dead man in the shop over there, there's a dead sniper there too." I explained. "Go get the American, mark and cover his body for grave detail." 

"Yes Sir, and may I say Sir, by the amount of blood on your hands, I'd say ya got him good." He replied

I stared the Sergeant down and strongly debated punching him right in his bucked teeth.

"Sergeant, Shut up, get your ass over to that shop and CLEAR THOSE BODIES!" I yelled.

I walked back to the truck. I had noticed that Sergeant McGill's squad was back untouched by enemy fire. I ordered the rest of the platoon into the truck and climbed into my jeep. 

"Lets go Will." I said unenthusiastically.

The trucks started off through the cleared out town. 

"Well then Will, I guess were off to Leduc." 

** **


	4. The Road

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

** **

As we continued down the road to Leduc, I drew my map to confirm where we were in relation to my original plan. According to the lines I had drawn back at the communications tent we were right on target. Looking at the map drew my attention to my hands, still covered in Flarhety's blood. I took out my canteen, unscrewed the cap and began pouring water on my hands. I scrubbed most of the blood off, however a faded red stain remained. 

"Did he die quick?" Will asked.

"He went quick enough," I replied, "Must've hurt like a son of a bitch though. He caught it right in the back."

"Damn."

I removed the clip from my Thompson to see that only 3 rounds remained. I removed the 3, .45 caliber rounds and used them to top off another clip; I then placed the replenished clip in my Thompson and pulled back on the bolt. I glanced down at my submachine gun and noticed that it was quite dusty; I brushed off some of the dust with the sleeve of my field jacked. I prided myself in taking good care of my Thompson, as it seemed to take good care of me. 

"What the hell is that?" I asked rhetorically squinting down the road 

As we got closer I noticed a patrol of men heading towards us. They were too far away for me to see what kind of uniform they were wearing. Will slowed the vehicle down to a near stop. I didn't want to open fire, incase the patrol was allied. Suddenly one of the men fired at us. The round went clean through the glass windshield and grazed Will's arm cutting the golden stripes on his sleeve.

"GET OUT!!" I yelled.

Will kicked open the door, dismounted and made a break for the ditch at the side of the road. I quickly stood up and fired an array of covery fire in the direction of the men. They returned fire as I got out of the jeep and joined Will in the ditch. One of the 6 men, who I could now clearly identify as infantrymen of the 16 Wundulkaumph started running down the road towards us. Will took aim on the running kraut and fired 2 rounds from his M1 Carbine. The rounds traveled straight and pierced both of the man's thighs. He stumbled to the ground; his rifle went skidding across the road. Without missing a beat I got up evading submachine gun and rifle fire from the remaining Germans and ran over to the fallen man who was trying to crawl away. He rolled over to the barrel of my .45 caliber submachine gun pointed directly at his head. I hit the dirt just as a rifle round whipped past my head. The wounded German was scared out of his mind. 

"I GIVE UP, I GIVE UP!" He screamed.

"SHUTUP! I'm not gonna kill you," I assured him. "I'm going to drag you over there to safety, Then I'm gonna beat the hell out of you."

I grabbed the fallen man by the Y harness on his back. I took a deep breath and made a beeline for the ditch dragging him all the way. Constantly ducking small arm fire that never seemed to stop. I raised my Thompson, with one hand and fired in the direction of the remaining men, causing them to duck and lose their bearings on us. Finally we got back to the ditch. I began rifling through the pockets on my field jacket looking for some cigarettes. Keeping the barrel of my Thompson trained on the wounded Kraut at all times, but only using peripheral vision to guard him. I figured I'd be civil to the enemy soldier and he may be more willing to give me the information I was seeking.

"We made it." I announced enthusiastically

"Smoke?" I asked.

He didn't answer

"Hey."I grabbed his shoulder. As my hand made contact with his shoulder, he fell lifeless onto my lap. I immediately rolled the corpse back onto the ground beside me. I gazed down to see what had brought on his demise. There was 8 or 9 exit wounds on his back, all of them leaking blood. I found this interesting, as I hadn't fired a single shot at the man. His fellow German soldiers, in their attempts to cut me down, shot him instead. I thought about the irony for a couple of seconds while I slipped a cigarette between my lips and lit it.

"Better you than me." I said looking down at the lifeless body of my, now former adversary 

I rolled the dead German onto his back. His eyes seemed to stare right through me. I ripped open the front of his tunic. I started rifling through his pockets looking for information. After a few seconds of searching the body I felt something in one of his pockets. I opened the chest pocket and withdrew a folded map, a German/English dictionary and a letter from an Oberleutnant Kesslinger. I hastily shoved the documents into the inner pocket of my field jacket while rising to my feet. I quickly browsed around the area looking for my Sergeant. I started off in the direction of the gunfire, keeping my head low, a skill that hadn't left me after learning it in basic training. The explosion of a mark 2 fragmentation grenade halted my advance. After the smoke had cleared, and my ears stopped ringing, I noticed that the gunfire had stopped. I stood fast not knowing what to expect. 

"I got'em!" Will announced as he walked towards me with a smile on his face.

"Good work!" I replied. "Sorry I wasn't there to help out."

"Well," He said forgivingly "Someone had to take care of the wounded kraut, and it looks like you took real good care of him Sir."

"I didn't do that, He got hit when I was dragging him back to the ditch."

"His own side shot him?" Will asked

"Yeah, The crazy bastards put him down."

"And how." Will replied gazing at the bloody corpse.

About 5 minutes later the deuce and a half that contained the rest of the squad came speeding along the road, kicking up dust behind it. The truck came to a halt in front of me.

"Hey Sir," The driver said sticking his head out of the window,"You guys gott'a quit gettin' so far ahead of us, we cant keep up with all this extra weight."

"Everybody out, we're having a break." I ordered, ignoring the driver. "Private Hawke move the truck off to the side of the road."

"Yes Sir." He complied and moved the truck.

"I'll move the jeep Sir." Said an over-enthusiastic young private.

"No, It can stay there." 

"It's no trouble Sir." He assured as he headed towards the jeep.

"GET BACK HERE!" I ordered. The young Private didn't listen. "Everybody stay here."

"GET BACK HERE NOW!" I yelled as I climbed out of the ditch.

I began to repeat myself once more, but the sudden explosion of my jeep interrupted my command. It transformed into and airborne mass of flame and twisted metal. All that remained of the insubordinate private was a bloodstain on the dirt road. As my jeep hit the ground the ground I felt something smash against my helmet. The impact caused me to lose my balance. I scanned the area to see what had hit me and I saw it, lying there on the side of the road. It was the Private's smoking boot. Still leaking blood from the eyelets. 

"What the hell was that?" I asked Reiben who was standing beside me.

"I don't know Sir, but I think I crapped my pants." He replied

"WILL, What was that?" I yelled to the Sergeant who was now taking cover.

"I don't friggen know Sir." He yelled back.

The question was relayed through the platoon. No one knew what the explosion was.

"Must've been that burrito I ate." One man said. The whole platoon broke into quiet snickering.

"SHUTUP, BE QUIET." I commanded. "Listen."

When the laughing stopped we could all clearly hear it, the engine of a Tiger tank, rumbling in the woods somewhere along the road. 

"Everybody get down." I ordered. "Maybe he hasn't seen us." I figured that must've been the dumbest thing I said all war. 

We all laid in the ditch, weapons ready, scared to death. Suddenly the engine revved. A Tiger 2 came speeding out of the forest. Covered in camouflage netting. The massive tank started towards our position down the road. 

"No wonder we couldn't find the bastard." Reiben commented.

The tank spun its turret around to face the deuce and a half. It fired off its cannon. The percussion of the gun discharging an 8.8 cm round shook the ground. The Deuce erupted into flame. Private Hawke was killed instantly while trying to exit the truck 

"FUBAR" Reiben commented staring at the flaming wreck

"So," I asked, "How do you guys feel about taking out a tank?"

"Upham," I said looking to the young Corporal. "Gather up all the grenades you can, bring'em back here."

"Yes Sir."

"We're gonna climb on top of that bastard and drop in a couple of pineapples for the crew." I explained. "We'll use the ditch for cover and take it by its right flank. McGill, you're coming too."

"Yes Sir." Sergeant McGill replied.

"Sir," Upham said returning with the grenades I ordered. "I got 12 of them sir."

"Thanks Upham." I replied gratefully. "Ok, I'll lead McGill, Claymore and Reiben follow. Lets Go!"

We ran along the ditch keeping concealed until we met an intersection in the road that we'd have to cross. 

"Lets make some noise." I pulled the pin on a grenade and lobbed it over the tank to give the men inside the illusion that we were on the other side of the road. The grenade went of with a loud bang, but the tankers didn't fall for it they spun the turret to the right then to the left to find out where we were. As it spun to the left we got up to cross the road but were spotted. The machine guns in the front of the tank opened fire, narrowly missing our small squad. The 7.92 mm rounds from the MG 34 machine gun just missed me, hitting the road and kicking up dirt and rock in front of me. Fragments of the road pranged off of my helmet. I made a tight turn to the rear of the tank, the other 3 men followed. The tank started turning around frantically trying to find us. I ran to the back of the tank with McGill to my right side. I threw my Thompson on top of the armored hull of the mighty tank. I then, grabbed onto on of the rails on the back and hoisted myself onto the machine. McGill handed me his M1 Carbine, I then grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the tank. 

"Ok were on McGill." I said while handing him his rifle. Now lets drop a few pineapples in on our Kaiser friends. 

I climbed onto the turret of the tank and knelt down beside the hatch. 

"Alright McGill, pull the pin and throw me the grenade, on three." I explained. "One – Two – Three GO!" 

McGill tossed me the grenade; I grabbed it, opened the hatch and dropped it in. Suddenly the same grenade came flying back into my hands. I yelled and hastily tossed it back in this time closing the hatch. I heard a muffled explosion and then silence. The tank stopped, almost causing me to fall forward. I saw the driver's hatch open and the driver climb out. He hopped off the hull of the tank and began to run. I raised my Thompson without missing a beat and sent five rounds through the running man's back. He stumbled forward and fell. McGill raised his carbine as the wounded man reached for his pistol. McGill popped off 2 rounds into the back of the man's head, immediately killing him.

"Nice shooting guys." A voice commended from behind the tank.

"Thanks Reiben." I replied. "You and Sergeant Claymore can do a quick sweep to see if you can rustle up any more krauts."

"Gee, Thanks a lot Sir." 

"GO!" I yelled.

The 2 men ran off into the woods, in search of the enemy. Sergeant McGill and I headed back to the platoon. 

"RADIO!" 

Private Taber ran towards me with the platoon radio on his back. I grabbed the receiver and began to raise the base in hopes of reaching Captain Beckett.

"Albatross 1, This is Condor Over" 

_ _

_"Albatross 1, This is Condor Over" _I repeated

"Condor this is Albatross 1, Go Message" 

_ _

_"This is Lieutenant Morgan, Patch me through to Captain Beckett Over"_

_ _

_"Wilco"_

_ _

I waited for about 5 seconds.

"Morgan, This Is Captain Beckett, How's it looking on your end? Over" 

_ _

_"Well Sir, I've lost 3 men, 6 men are wounded. One of the dead men is Sergeant Flarhety, The number 3 squad leader."_

_ _

_"Replace him, Give someone a field promotion."_

_ _

_"Yes Sir, I've also lost both the jeep and the deuce Sir."_

_ _

_"Go it on foot, its not that far."_

_ _

_"Sir, I've also acquired a map from a dead enemy soldier. It appears to detail infantry placement in the town of Leduc. I've also found a letter from an officer requesting tank support."_

_ _

_"Get there before the tanks to son. Good Luck"_

_ _

_"Yes Sir. Condor out" _

_ _

_"Albatross 1 out"_

_ _

I hung up the receiver. 

"Are Claymore and Reiben back from their patrol?" I asked Private Taber

"Yes Sir. They're over there having a smoke."

"REIBEN, CLAYMORE, McGILL, FRONT AND CENTER!" I commanded.

The three men doubled to my position.

"Ok, here's the deal" I explained. "A few things have changed, 1. We don't have transportation, we gotta walk, 2. We gotta get there fast, cause we may be expecting tanks. And 3. Reiben, You're a Sergeant now."

"WHAT, but sir I'm only a PFC" Reiben complained.

"You're a Sergeant now. Congratulations."

"But I'm a BAR gunner." 

"You can keep the BAR."

"I'm a terrible influence, I almost walked out on Captain Miller."

"Well now you're a Sergeant, and if you walk out on me, I'll personally ram my boot clean up your ass. Now fall in your squads and lets move out. We'll go through the forest."


	5. Oberleutnant Kesslinger

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

** **

I made my way over to my platoon, which was now under-strength by about 10 battle worthy soldiers. This left with about 22 men, including myself. This left 7 men for each squad. I thought to myself how much I would like those men to be here right now. The platoon was formed up, in two ranks along the side of the road, with Sergeant Claymore, Sergeant McGill and the newly promoted Sergeant Reiben standing in front of the formation, talking to the battle weary GI's, trying to raise their morale. I had noted that their spirits were high, despite what we'd been through.

I reached the front of the platoon and stopped. I took a few seconds to look over the column of soldiers that stood before me. They were getting tired and needed a rest, but I couldn't put the war on hold. We had to move out. My three Sergeants had briefed them on our predicament before I got there. They were prepared for the long march to Leduc but at this point believed that they could take on the entire German Army. Every man in the platoon wanted to fight this war to an end. As did I. I thought this would be the perfect time for some sort of motivational speech.

"Alright men," I began, "We gotta walk the remaining 25 miles to Leduc, and after coming this far already were not going to turn around. You all know the danger of this mission. There is upwards of 150 Krauts in that town and their not going to just give up. But I personally am ready, ready to go to Leduc and Kick some Kaiser ass. We're gonna take that town and hold it. Then were all gonna go take Paris from those schnitzel eatin' bastards, Then straight on to Berlin, where I will personally put a bullet right between Old Nutty's eyeballs. And your all coming with me, No exceptions."

Every soldier in the platoon cheered in agreement.

"Lets move out." I ordered enthusiastically.

The platoon broke formation as I led them into the forest. The forest ground was soft and covered in moss. The tops of the trees shot high up in the air, providing good cover from the air. The forest itself was remarkable. It was green and full of life, Untouched by the war. There were naturally fallen logs and bushes that were packed close together. The birds sang and other animals could be heard in the trees and bushes. There was plenty of moisture; I had concluded that there was a river nearby. As we traveled farther away from the road the forest became denser. This would provide good cover in the event of a battle.

After about 2 hours of walking through the thick forest the clutter of vegetation became sparse. I could here the current of the nearby river flowing freely along the terrain. We came to the edge of the tree line and saw the rocky bank of the river. The river itself was about 40 yards in width and flowing quickly. There were some fallen logs that made a sort of wall at the edge of the tree line. I determined that this would be the perfect area to take a break.

"Hold up here behind these logs. We'll have a 20-minute break. Smoke'em if you got'em." 

The soldiers acted as ordered and made themselves comfortable behind the logs. Some sat others laid down on their backs and tipped their helmets over their eyes. This break would do them good; they'd all had a long day. Most of the soldiers had already lit cigarettes in their mouth. I was just coming to the end of a Marlboro that I had started during our march through the forest. I drew in one last mouthful of smoke and dropped the burnt out cigarette. I brought a heavy boot down on top of the butt driving it into the ground.

"What's in the letter Greg?" I asked a Corporal, sitting next to me. 

"It's from my wife Sir." He replied not taking his eyes off the wrinkled paper. "She said she found us a new apartment in St. Louis. She's paying the rent with money from her job at a factory."

"That's good."

"Yeah, But what if I never get back?" He asked in dismay.

"You'll get back." I assured him. 

"I doubt that Sir." He argued rising to his feet. "I'm not a born soldier like you, or Sergeant claymore. I'm a banker at home Sir. I'm surprised I haven't blown my own brains out yet."

"You'll learn," I replied "You can start by sitting down."

"Sorry Sir." He said lowering his body back to the ground. 

"I have a bad feeling about this spot." 

I raised my head so that I could see over the log across the river. It was quiet, but I wasn't going to jump to conclusions. I continued scanning the tree line on the other side of the river. A small glare shining through the bushes caught my attention. I squinted to see what it was. I couldn't make it out with my bare eyes. I reached for the binocular case at my side. I opened the case, withdrew the black field glasses and placed them to my eyes. With the aid of my field glasses I could see that the glare was being generated by a ration can, A German ration can. I raised my field glasses to see a Wehrmacht soldier filling his face with bratwurst and engaging in a conversation wit 3 other kraut soldiers. One of the gray clad men was an officer. The officer glanced in my direction.

"Uh oh." I whispered. 

I remained still in the hopes that the officer wouldn't notice me. My hopes were soon proven to a farfetched notation, as the white bar painted on my helmet was a give away. The German officer raised his own pair of field glasses to his eyes. There we stood staring at each other for a moment. I did the only thing that I could think of. I raised my hand above the log and waived at the man across the river. The officer, with a surprised look on his face, waved back, then he reached for his Walther P38 and withdrew it from its holster. 

"AMERIKANA!" He yelled.

"KRAUTS, OPEN FIRE!" I ordered to my squad.

I raised my Thompson to my shoulder and opened up on the men across the river. The sky erupted with the noise of gunfire. The crackling of our battle caused birds to abandon their perch in nearby trees. My Thompson didn't have the range for this engagement. I rose to my feet but was sent back down as rounds ripped into the trees behind me. I dismissed the thought of flanking the Kaisers. I continued to fire at the Germans to keep the pressure on. The men across the river were well equipped for a small squad. Besides the officer who was armed with nothing but a pistol, there was a Feld Webel bearing an MP40 and two privates, each brandishing a KAR98. All the men, excluding the officer had Stielhandgreanates and plenty of ammunition. 

As rounds whipped passed our position, I looked frantically for an alternate route to flank the oppressive squad across the river. I was out of luck. All the routes were poorly covered by vegetation or fallen debris. I looked over at the men beside me, Squeezing off rounds. I emptied the rest of my clip in the direction of the 4 German soldiers. They returned fire with deadly accuracy. The Kraut rounds whipped through the air and struck the 2 men beside me. One man caught a rifle round in the head. The bullet flew into his helmet and exited through the rear of the steel headgear, followed by a spray of blood, which covered the bushes behind us. The other Private took a slug in the arm. The force of the bullet knocked him to the ground. I knelt down beside the wounded man.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Ahh, I can't use my arm," He replied in pain. "Take my rifle Sir, It has good range. I can dress my own wound Sir."

"Thanks"

"I got one!" someone yelled.

I glanced back over the log to see one of the German Privates stumble to the ground holding his bleeding neck. His friend made an attempt to drag the wounded man to safety. I took this as a target of opportunity. I took aim on the German soldier with my newly acquired M1 Garand rifle. I squeezed off one round. The .30 caliber bullet sped across the river and found its place in the man's side. The bullet traveled through his body and pierced his heart, causing the organ to explode on contact. Blood sprayed from the man's nose and mouth. He fell to the ground and began to twitch uncontrollably.Without missing a beat I relocated my sights to the chest of the German Sergeant. I fired off one more round, the action of my Garand opened up and an empty stripper clip flew out the top with a prang. The German Sergeant grabbed his stomach as the round entered his soft body. He dropped his submachine gun and fell into the river, moaning in pain. The officer fired of an eighth round from his P38. He moved behind a large rock covering him self while reloading his pistol. I used this time re-draw my Thompson, leap over the log and cross the river. After quickly trekking through the cold water, I came to the rock that the officer was taking cover behind. I saw a white handkerchief slowly rise from behind the large stone. The German Oberleutnant slowly rose from behind the rock with his hands above his head.

"Your lucky you surrendered Fritz." I stated. "Ich Spreche Deutsche. So start yakking''" 

"I am Oberleutnant Kesslinger, I wish to surrender to the United States Army."

"Well, you speak English." I said, "Will you get a load of the irony, I Wish to take you prisoner."

The platoon crossed the river and began searching the trees for more Germans. 

"I will answer any questions you have."

"Really, A compliant German? I wish they were all more like you." 

"I hate the Fuehrer. I hate the Nazis. They started all of this. The atrocities, the invasion of other countries. I'm a career military officer, not a butcher."

"What the hell do you mean butcher?" I asked

"We caught some men expected of being in the French Resistance. Colonel Schofeld ordered me to have them slain, their families as well, when I refused to kill the children he had me imprisoned in one of the buildings. They let me out today. I formed a patrol to escape. We left Leduc 4 hours ago. I had to fake the gunfight; I fired the rounds over your head. The soldiers are Schofeld's goons."

"Did you say Leduc?"

"Yes, Leduc is where my regiment is based."

"What do you have there for support?"

"We have a full strength regiment, as well as 5 tanks that just arrived this morning."

"Tanks? Well that's just fricken great."

"Are you planning to attack Leduc?"

"I'll ask the questions here." I snapped. "You just rest for now."

I ordered one of the Corporals standing beside me to bind Kesslinger's hands together. Then I made my way back across the river, toward the wounded man who had leant me his rifle. When I reached the log that we had been taking cover behind I looked down at the injured Private. The kid had lost a lot of blood, but Private Storey, The platoon medic, seemed to have it under control.

"How is he Storey?"

"He'll live Sir, but his war's over."

The bullet had gone clean through the bone, snapping it. It was a million dollar wound. For him. I was the one that had to figure out how to get him back safely. It was more than 60 miles back to the company. I decided that the best idea was to take him to Leduc with us. After the battle we would be reinforced and he could be taken to an aid station. Until then he was going to have to tough it out.

"Ok Men," I instructed, "The Krauts know were here, so we gotta move out now. Get your gear."

The Rangers grabbed their gear and formed up. We started off towards Leduc. We would get there soon; I only hoped that the tanks that Kesslinger had mentioned were a hoax. The platoon moved through the forest, the prisoner and the wounded Ranger followed.


End file.
